


Abscond: A Beginners Guide to Running Away

by kayrv



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Running Away
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-16 01:55:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10561432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayrv/pseuds/kayrv
Summary: That question resting on our minds like "Will you run away with me?"





	

_Is there a way to make this go away_  
_I don't think that we're gonna be okay_  
_You were my hero and I was your sidekick_  
_Now you're gonna be the tear that I cry when we split_  
_Baby I don't think that I can do this_

 

It’s mid afternoon, the sun is flooding the dorm ground with saffron rays of light that managed to slip through the newly sprouted leaves and buildings. Parts of the world are going to bed after a long day while the rest of it is either awake or waking up. Catholic school students are studying like their lives depended on it, and in such a strict school, it did.

  
“Dirk, are you even paying attention,” A familiar voice rang, causing the teen to clear his throat and tear his attention away from the window. Then, a small smile appears on the usually stoic face that was unwavering to anyone else. He’s seventeen and he never realized that any moment, his heart would fall to the floor and shatter. But no, not right now. Right now, they we’re “tediously” going over the contexts of the ridiculously thick textbook that preached that America was great and nothing EVER went wrong in history. They both know that it was romanticizing the counties history, but they just went along with it. For the sake of school grades and their families constantly annoying them, they usually had a half-baked study session before spending the rest of their day rough housing, talking about the impossible and secret make out sessions that we’re sure to get them expelled if they were caught.

  
“Yeah, I am,” He replies shortly after, leaning forward to rest his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder. He hardly noticed when the Englishmen stiffened at the casual affection. “So, Jake,” He started quietly, loosely circling his arms around the boy’s stomach as his eyes close. “Are we done studying yet? This bull crap isn’t even real, and we’re both smart enough we don’t even need to study.” His question met silence, which was unusual for the boy who would always have something to say, whether it had anything to do with the subject at hand or not. There was a curious melancholy about Jake today. The kid was always so energetic and boisterous was sad for what ever reason and it bothered Dirk enough to cause him to pull away and question Jake’s attitude.

  
Pine green eyes looked down at callused palms like they were foreign extremities, his eyes seemingly dazed in deep though. “You know I love you, Dirk,” He said quietly, turning his attention to the other male who returned the look with his own confused look, one eye brow arched up while the other furrowed down like a cartoon who just heard the most ridiculous notion. He quickly claimed that he too, loved Jake. “I love you to the moon and back, Dirk,” Jake repeated, only to earn the usual response of ‘And I love you from the stars and beyond’ followed by an accusing phrase of ‘Jake, what is this about?’. Jake could feel his chest tightening. “Dirk, aren’t you scared? It’s terrifying to think that if we get caught, they can send us to boot camp.”

“No, I’m not scared. They can try to send me where ever the want. It won’t stop me from loving you and that’s that,” Dirk responded, leaning back on the bed with his arms propping him up. Jake proceeded to ramble on about how he couldn’t go to boot camp that they would beat him and that he was scared. Dirk couldn’t blame him for being scared, but as Jake continued to speak, Dirk could feel his chest beginning to tighten with apprehension. His shoulders rose as he subconsciously defended himself as if Jake’s words were physically harming him. Now, Dirk was the kind a guy who was never afraid of anything other than spiders and the fact that if he messed something up, it could result in hurting Jake, but now? Now he was afraid of what Jake was about to say because he knew that tone. It was the same goddamn tone that Dave used when he had to tell Dirk that he wasn’t coming home for the holidays, or his birthday, or when he promised he would be. It was the same tone when something that was the worst was going to be said.

  
“Dirk, I think we should break up,” Jake said, his voice pleading for Dirk not to get angry. This was a joke? Right? It had to be. But then again, April fools was over a week ago. Dirk’s laughed now (albeit awkwardly ) claiming that Jake had never been a great prankster but he really had him going there. Jake is crying now, it’s no heavy, but it’s enough for Dirk to realize that Jake’s serious. “I can’t go there, Dirk. You can’t go there. We almost got caught, Dirk. Do you realize how dangerous this is. We’ll be kicked out of school. My parent’s wouldn’t allow me to be in contact with you. Your brother would make you move with him. I wouldn’t see you-“He was cut off.

  
“You’re kidding me, right?” Dirk said, almost coldly. Behind his shade, Dirk’s own eyes were tearing up and he can’t breathe. He wanted to tell Jake to stop it, that it would be okay. He wanted to beg Jake to say he was just kidding- But his personality was saying otherwise. He was getting angry. Dirk’s heart beat echoed in his ears, despite that fact it felt like it was breaking into pieces. It was working all too well and he wished he hadn’t. “I would go through hell for you Jake, and you’re telling me you can’t even bear the thought of something like that happening?” There was a bitterness in his voice that earned a quiet sob from the other. Dirk never spoke to Jake like that. Dirk spoke about others to Jake in that tone, but he never directed it at him.

  
“Dirk- stop it,” Jake forced out weakly, his shoulders trembling. Anyone who knew Dirk when he was mad didn’t want to be around him when he was angry. “Dirk. I don’t want to do this, but I don’t think it’s a good idea anymore.”

  
Even with the sunglasses, Dirk looked like some one punched him in the gut and he’s standing now, pacing the room as if it would make everything go away like it was some kind of dream. “I can’t believe this school is more important to you,” He said quietly, his hands covering his face at first before his fingers dip underneath his specs to wipe his eyes. “I cannot believe this. Two years, Jake. I have helped you and given you everything for two years and now you doubt us?”

“Dirk, you don’t understand,” He said.

  
No, Dirk didn’t understand. His mind couldn’t wrap around the situation. It just didn’t feel real. Dirk could feel the contents of his stomach flipping; he was going to be sick. Soon enough, he’s yelling and Jake is yelling back. They’ve had small fights before, but never like this. They’re cursing. Dirk is getting angrier and angrier while Jake is trying to explain himself to the equivalent of a brick wall. Arms are characteristically flailing up and dropping. Soon enough, Jake stormed out from the dorm, the door slamming loudly behind him. A text book was thrown, leaving a nice dent in the dry wall before the only sounds in the room was the soft music from the stereo and Dirk’s angry panting.

  
Hours turned into days of restlessness. Three days, seven hours and forty-three minutes, to be exact. Dirk lay on his bed, red eyed and exhausted as he stared up at the ceiling. He didn’t know how many calls he received, or how many people came to his dorm. But he didn’t want to speak to any of them. It was a notorious thing for him to do. To lock himself away when something destroyed him. It’s only happened two other times, the first time his older brother told him he would come to one of his track competitions and didn’t show up and again when his brother almost died in a car accident after a semi totaled his car when he was eleven years old. The night of the accident, Jake sat outside of his room for hours, trying to cheer Dirk up by telling him stories. Dirk yelled at him to go away once, but with in an hour of that, he let Jake in. They stayed up all night. Jake allowed Dirk to cry as much as he needed to.

  
But this time, there was no Jake to comfort him. There was only an empty bed and a speckled ceiling that when they first started school here, would make up shapes and figures out of the pattern on his boring back drop.

  
He’s standing for the first time in seven hours and if feeling like all of the blood rushed to his head. Nothing to eat and very few drinks would do that to you.. Dirk’s at the toilet down, his stomach emptying it’s none existent contents into the porcelain bowl with dry heaves and a quiet sob. Dirk is crying again before furiously wiping at his eyes. He couldn’t do this. But he knew he had to pick himself up once again. He had to make himself okay. Coughing roughly, he pushes himself up, his legs feeling like they were nothing short of being equal to a baby deer standing for the first time.

  
When he looks at himself in the mirror, he can see that he’s a mess. His eyes were still red and for once in his life, he wished they were red from smoking weed rather than exhaustion. His hair was far from styled, curling in random places and in all directions. He hadn’t changed in three days either.

  
It was time for a change.

  
Dirk, wash your face, changed your clothes. You’re going to be just fine.

  
Cleaned up, Dirk looked down when his stomach growled loudly at him to finally get some food. Maybe that was a good idea. He really needed to start taking care of himself. Swallowing thickly, Dirk let out a slow breath. Leaving the room was definitely not something he wanted to do, but he knew he had to, and so he did.

  
On the other side, Jake locked himself up in his room too, but instead of no sleep, he slept way too much. He got up occasionally to use the bathroom and get some water, he even managed to nibble on some snacks that he stashed away, but other than that, he too, spoke to no one. It was common for him to act that way. It happened when his parents died when he turned six years old, a year after their death, Jake and his grandmother moved to Texas to be with the rest of the extended family. That’s when he met Dirk. They had been best friends since.

  
He’s awake now, lazily sprawled over his bed as his glasses lay crooked on his face. He didn’t even know why he bothered leaving them on. They were annoying and dumb. The bed was dumb. Everything was dumb. Turning over on the bed, Jake looked to the empty space next to him, imaging Dirk was laying next to him with a goofy smile that only he was allowed to see. He missed him so much his body ached. “Dirk,” He mumbled as if saying his named would magically make him appear, but instead, he only glides a flat palm over the sheets. A quiet tear slips from his eye and he idly wipes it away with the sleeve of his hoodie  
Then, there is a knock on the door that jerks him from his imagination. “Go away!” He replied, tossing a paper back book at the door away. There was another knock; this person didn’t get the idea. Angrily, he rustled out of the bed, throwing the sheets off to answer the door. When he did, he swung the door wide. “Seriously, I said I don’t want an-“He goes quiet. There was no one. At his feet, there was a plate cover in foil with a sticky note on it reading in slightly slanted, capital letters ‘BREAKFAST’ could be seen. He’d recognize that hand writing anywhere.

  
Dirk.

  
A small smile curled its way on his lips before he picked up the plate and took it inside. Jake sits on the bed, beginning to eat as he scanned the sticky note. Then, he didn’t something that he thought of doing since their break up. Fumbling his hand over his phone before sending a text.

  
To: Strider  
MSG: Thank you for breakfast.  
Message seen at 11:17 AM ✓

 

[ MESSAGE RECEIVED ]  
From: Strider  
MSG: Welcome.

 

To: Strider  
MSG: Dirk… Will you come over? I hate asking, but I need someone.  
Message seen at 11:25 AM ✓

 

There was no response and Jake could swear he felt like he was going to cry again. Dirk probably hated him (which didn’t make sense considering he brought Jake breakfast, but with a broken heart, it was easy to assume.). Though, the feelings worsened when there was a knock on his door. Getting up to actually answer it, Jake felt as if the sight had stolen the air from his very lungs. He’s shaking now and Dirk is looking down on him with those tangerine hues that made him weak in the knees and he swears he can’t breathe, even when he’s breathing very loudly.

  
It felt like he was standing there speechless for a few minutes when in reality, it only took seconds for him to step forward and wrap his arms so tight around Dirk that Dirk exhaled sharply. Despite this, Dirk was quick to wrap his arms around Jake, his fingers laced into the thick chestnut locks that smelled vaguely of the axe that Jake regularly drowned himself in. It was comforting. “M’sorry...” Jake mumbled into Dirk’s chest. Dirk quickly shushed him.  
He didn’t say it was okay.

  
And it wasn’t okay, he knew that.

  
“Can we go lay down?” Jake asked weakly, his arms and shoulder still trembling, a shaky breath leaving him as he tried to calm down and Dirk nodded. Pulling him to the bed, Dirk laid with Jake, tangling his long legs with Jake’s easily, a hand remaining in Jake’s hair as if he was protecting him from the empty room. “Dirk. I’m so bloody sorry... I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” Dirk said. Jake missed how Dirk spoke. He missed the deep sound of his southern accent that most of the time was intimidating to others but Jake loved it. It excited him.

  
“Yes, I am. I destroyed something wonderful because I was scared but I’m even more scared of losing you,” He said, his own voice hoarse from the hours of useless sobbing. Dirk sighed softly and squeezed Jake close to him and Jake quieted down quickly, his smaller frame curling against the yellowed hair man who also began to apologize. He apologized for yelling, claiming he should’ve handled the situation better and that he didn’t mean to make Jake cry. “I would’ve cried anyways,” He responded, his fingers clenching at the fabric of Dirk’s shirt. It felt as if he were to let go, Dirk would disappear.

  
“Jake, shut up,” Dirk ordered, almost scolding Jake for apologizing. Jake exhaled sharply, his eyes squeezing tight like it would prevent a tear falling. As quick as they close, they opened wide in shock when he felt warmth on his lips. Dirk was kissing him. The tears flowed at a faster pace as Jake melted at the kiss and a whimper filled whatever space there was between their lips, The world was spinning around them, even when time felt like it was standing still. Hastily, Jake reached up and cupped Dirk’s cheeks, wordlessly noticing that Dirk’s cheeks were wet from crying as wall.

  
Soon, they were both laughing through quiet gasps and snivels. Eventually, the were laughing so hard their sides were beginning to ache. Even with their hearty celebration, they remained tangled in each other and the eggplant colored sheets. It tugged on them whenever they moved but they could honestly care less. “I love you, Dirk. I’m so sorry,” Jake said breathlessly, wiping at his eyes as his smile died down. “Dirk, I made a mistake. I don’t want to be away from you. I don’t.”

  
Dirk claimed he knew yet Jake felt like Dirk would never know how sincere he was about this. “I love you too, English.”

  
“Can we not be broke up any more?” Jake said.

  
Dirk’s cheeks twitched with a slight smile as he nodded and for the first time since Dirk arrived, Jake noticed how exhausted Dirk was. The poor chap probably hadn’t slept a lick since their fight. Reluctantly, Jake untangled himself from Dirk only to pull up the comforter and the bed sheets over them. It was nice to feel warm and safe again. His nose in buried against Dirk’s neck, and he realizes that the bed is only warm because of Dirk’s natural ability to retain heat so he scoots closer. Dirk sighs contentedly, and Jake smiles. He loves this man.

  
The next day, Jake stirs awake, squinting at the chest that slowly rises and falls with quiet breaths and he realizes he’s no longer wearing his glasses. Dirk must’ve removed them after he fell asleep. Haphazardly rolling over, Jake felt over the nightstand blindly for his glasses, placing them on his face once he had them. He’s smiling now as Dirk slept next to them. Dirk was no where near as scary in his sleep as he was awake. His features seem softer and he doesn’t look emotionless. Instead, he looked calm. Jake looks to the window, momentarily peering at the other teens that were playing hacky sack in the court yard. There’s a weird muffled silence of the morning. The dulled quality of the light, like the sun is being filtered through orange paper mache. Birds -- of course, those annoying little buggers-- going about their early morning business. Sailing from the branches. Deep in conversation of their own sort.

  
The chill that comes after a warm yesterday and before a warm afternoon and Jake shudders, reminding himself to shut that damn window. He looks to the alarm clock that blinked ‘7:25 AM’ along with a ‘04/09/2017’ causing him to gasp. They slept through an entire day. A laugh replaced the surprise on his features as he shakes his head and he rolls out of bed, stretching lazily before going to shower.

  
When he comes out, Dirk is half awake, the concern obvious on his face. Being as tired as he was, Dirk probably didn’t realize that the shower was running. Relief washes over his face when Jake exited the bathroom. “I thought you left,” He said tiredly, flopping back down on the bed as if that small bout of concern completely exhausted him. Dirk looked more like a toddler who wasn’t allowed to move from time out so they just gave up. Jake laughed, ruffling the towel over his head and he makes his way to the bed, stealing a quick kiss from Dirk. He didn’t feel the need to tell Dirk about his shoulder, it was quite obvious. He did, however, reassure Dirk that he wasn’t going anywhere.

  
“Dirk, sit up, I need to talk to you,” He said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Dirk protests, but he knows this time it’s not a break up. It still made his anxious though. He hated the whole “I need to talk to you” jazz. It was probably the most terrible phrase created, ever.  
“What is it?”

  
Jake is smiling when Dirk sits up again and Dirk is confused. “What?” He nods tilts his head ever so slightly. Jake goes into explaining how he still has all of the money he inherited from his parents when they passed away ( which was a little more than a half of a million dollars, Jake came with a silver spoon in his mouth ) and how he had access to his trust fund and all of these other claims that caused Dirk to rolled his hand, urging Jake to get to the point already.

  
“Will you run away with me?”

**Author's Note:**

> [A Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78f3LgO7uDI)


End file.
